Meaning & use

headroom

noun·Advanced

Last updated

The vertical space available above a person's head, or above a vehicle, sufficient to avoid hitting something.

See it in a sentence

The parking garage had only six feet of headroom, too low for the delivery van.

The attic's sloped ceiling left little headroom for standing upright.

A note on using this word

Also used figuratively in audio engineering to mean the margin between a signal's normal level and the point where it distorts.

Words with a similar meaning

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Another way to use it

2. noun

In audio engineering, the margin between a signal's normal operating level and the point at which distortion occurs.

The mixing engineer left extra headroom so the recording wouldn't clip.

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